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Softball Slugger Save
Location: Hickory, Pennsylvania Date: May 8, 1992 Story On May 8, 1992 in Hickory, Pennsylvania, the Langhurst Hickory Trucking Team was scheduled to play the Print Box Team in the local girls softball league. Fourteen-year-old Nikki Oliver and her friend, Marty Camdden, were waiting to watch the game and standing next to the field talking about school. "Nikki couldn't play because she sprained her ankle a couple weeks earlier and was on crutches," said Marty. One of the girls, Robin Theiss, missed the ball, picked it up, and accidentally hit Nikki in the head with it. Gloria Buckles, a registered nurse, was one of the mothers watching the game. "You could hear it. You could actually hear the ball hit Nikki and I had to be 30 feet away from her," said Gloria. Nikki seemed glassy eyed. Gloria went to get her flashlight while the coach, Bernie Jenkowski, asked his wife, Jackie, to keep an eye on Nikki. Gloria checked Nikki's pupils to see if they dilated but they weren't. They were very pin point and non-reactive. Gloria went to call Nikki's mother so she could take her to the hospital. "She was sitting next to me being real quiet and then she turned to me and said, 'Jackie, something's happening.' Those were her exact words," remembers Jackie. Nikki's left arm began twitching and she started having epileptic seizures. To get help, someone drove to the Mount Pleasant Township volunteer fire station two blocks away. The seizure lasted 6-7 minutes and she seemed relaxed. Jackie told her to take a deep breath and that help was on the way. She did and then stopped breathing. Within two minutes, rescuers arrived on the scene. Firefighter Tim Lowry took over her care. He knelt down beside Nikki and saw that her teeth were clenched tight, she was not breathing, and her pupils were fixed and dilated. "I saw a little girl there,who her future was staring right into her eyes, and she wasn't looking back," said Tim. She had a closed head injury and they had to displace her jaw to get her to breathe. It took Nikki's mother, Rose, half an hour to get to the field. "When I saw Nikki's eyes, I really thought she wasn't going to live. I think what bothered me the most was that the last thing I saw was my husband passing away and his eyes rolling back," said Rose. "I did not even let Nikki go until Life Flight touched ground. I even got into the helicopter with her. They had to ask me to get out. I wanted to stay with her because I knew she needed help," said Tim. There was no room for Rose in the helicopter so she had to make the 40 mile trip by car. "I really thought she was not going to make it and that I would no longer have a daughter," said Rose. At the hospital, Nikki was first examined by trauma surgeon Daniel Diamond. "In her case there was not a collection of blood pressing on the brain," said Dr. Diamond. Her care was then transferred to neurosurgeon John Wilson. "The blow to the head caused a seizure. They were having difficulty maintaining her air way so that she could breathe normally and those were the complications caused by the seizure," said Dr. Wilson. By the end of the second day, Nikki was well enough to be visited by her family and friends. "Less than 12 hours earlier I thought she was dead and there she was eating a green popsicle and telling me that she never had one before," said Jackie. "I truly believe that there was a miracle where she was concerned. Her dad was with her. Since I do believe in miracles, I think he created one," said Rose. Two months have passed since the accident. Nikki's life is almost returning back to normal. She is now on an anti-seizure medication. "I'm thankful for the people that helped me. Tim, he's like a big brother and I've been a lot closer to Bernie, Jackie, and their daughter, Sherri," said Nikki. "Nikki's just a magnetic kid. I'm sure we'll be friends for a long time," said Tim. Category:1992 Category:Pennsylvania Category:Seizures Category:Head Traumas